Residence Inn Harlingen

The fire alarm went off at 8:58 in the morning and jolted us awake. That was after we'd finally settled in around 2 AM, following a room change because the air conditioning wouldn't come on and the room had climbed two degrees in temperature. We were traveling with three kids and two adults in a packed car, and had booked a bigger suite as a family treat. After visiting relatives, we came back exhausted, hoping to put the kids to bed and spend some late time with my in-laws. The sofa bed had just one set of blankets. The only comforter in the room was a gross brownish-tan fleece that felt like sticky velvet insulation. I went down to ask politely for another blanket, but the front desk girl said no. She refused when I asked again, even after I explained the little kids needed to sleep comfortably and asked her to check with a manager. Eventually she handed me one thin blanket, with no option to exchange it for anything better. I gave up, brought that one comforter upstairs, and left the fleece at the desk. Once the room started heating up, we had to call the desk again. She eventually agreed to move us, but everything was already unpacked, so we repacked and dragged our tired family to the third floor. The AC trouble seemed to affect the hotel generally. This isn't what I expect from a Marriott. My mother-in-law helped us move, and after we got settled it was about 2 AM. I spent the next hour looking for another hotel for the following night. I wouldn't put my family through another second there. There was more. The gentleman who checked us in so nicely turned out to be the manager, and apparently he'd told the desk girl we couldn't have another comforter. When I finally got the white comforter from the broken room, after she'd hesitated and seemed to want me gone, she said it was because of a military contract. She explained the hotel supposedly couldn't provide normal service because so many soldiers were staying there. If that's true, why take civilian bookings? Close it to the public if you can't manage basic hospitality like an extra blanket or working AC. Don't take people's money and treat families this way. Never again. This place is a disgrace.